This Is How A Heart Breaks
by Midnight Parallax
Summary: 4x06 - Roque is heartbroken when he discovers Ivan and Julia planning their midnight escape.
1. This Is How A Heart Breaks

**This Is How A Heart Breaks  
**

 **Episode:** _4x06_

 **Summary:** Roque is heartbroken when he discovers Ivan and Julia planning their midnight escape.

"Can I know why the hell you're being so hard on Julia? What did she ever do to you?" Roque demanded.

"To me?" Vicky replied unwaveringly. "Nothing. I just don't trust her, period."

Roque walked away from her in frustration. He couldn't believe his friends were treating Julia like she was the enemy. When she helped them speak to Cayetano one last time, he knew that she belonged in their group of friends. Roque became closer to her as time went on, and then she told him about her father's death and the visit from his ghost. It meant that she trusted him and liked spending time with him. Roque was sure if played his cards right, they would be dating soon… if his friends didn't mess things up first.

"It's funny that you trusted her enough to investigate Mateo," Roque pointed out. "But not us."

"She didn't give me a choice," Vicky replied. "She tried to mess with his head and got caught. Isn't it a bit strange that he didn't threaten her like he did to us?"

Suddenly, Roque's phone buzzed at the arrival of a new text. Instead of continuing the argument with Vicky, he opened the phone to see what it said. "I was supposed to meet Eduardo in the library ten minutes ago. We have to finish our presentation on Marie Curie's discovery of penicillin."

Carol nodded. "Then you should get going. We'll let you know if we find out anything else."

"I'm sure you will," Roque sighed as he left the room. He hated science class. And math. And literature. Well, it was a good thing Eduardo's father was a chemical engineer, so he would be doing most of the work.

Roque could focus on convincing Marcos that they needed Julia as much as she needed them. With the loss of Cayetano, Roque and his friends were short a sixth member of their group. Julia was the piece of the puzzle that was missing. Roque could feel it. Even the Five Avengers had added a sixth member to their secret order. The sixth Power Ranger was usually the special one, but the most misunderstood. That was why Roque was going to have Julia's back. In his opinion, she belonged wherever he was.

As Roque walked down the stairs, he thought he caught a glimpse of Julia walking toward the classrooms on the other side of the hallway. It didn't make sense. She was supposed to be in the stables, finishing her punishment for interrupting Latin class with Ivan. Roque's phone buzzed with another annoyed text from Eduardo, but he ignored it. Instead, he went in the direction he saw Julia walking. He turned the corner and saw her enter one of the classrooms. It was Saturday. Julia hated being stuck in class on a regular day, so why would she break into one during the weekend? The last thing Roque needed was for Julia to start developing stranger habits than seeing dead people, so he followed her to see what was going on. She had pushed the door in behind her, but it was left slightly ajar. It was a narrow view, but Roque would have to make it work.

"Is everything ready for tonight?" Julia asked someone inside. She was sitting against one of the desks facing sideways from the door, but there was someone else pacing back and forth inside the room.

 _Tonight? What was going on tonight?_ Roque wondered. _Better yet, with whom?_ He couldn't move without being caught spying, so he would have to be patient. He had believed that Julia wasn't one of the bad guys, but it wasn't impossible that she had been recruited. He willed the other person to move into his line of sight. He wasn't sure who he was expecting, since Noiret was the only person they knew was working against them.

"We'll go at midnight when no one's around," came the other person's reply. "That should give us enough time to make it back before anyone can miss us."

 _Noiret_. Ivan Noiret. Roque felt his world shatter in that moment.

"I want to go now," Julia said as Ivan moved to stand face to face with her. "I can't stand this place."

"You mean this isn't one of the top ten vacation spots in Spain?" Ivan said, moving closer to where Julia leaned on the desk.

"Well, there are some recreational activities that help me to unwind," Julia replied coyly.

"Really?" Ivan asked with mock curiosity. "Like what?"

Roque could see Ivan clearly now through the door, but Ivan's gaze was focused on Julia. The tender intimacy of their voices was undeniable. What was going on? Time seemed to slow down as Roque continued watching them in horror.

Julia stood up straight and stretched her arms out around Ivan's neck, pulling him closer to her. Their behavior was unlike anything that they had ever exhibited in front of Roque. The scene before him seemed almost impossible to imagine, since he was so used to them yelling or exchanging barbed comments at each other. Ivan put his hands on Julia's waist, and Roque willed Ivan to push her away. Ivan was supposed to push her away. He had promised not to get involved with her.

Instead, Ivan stood there as Julia leaned in closer to him. When their lips met, it took every ounce of self-control Roque possessed for him not to burst into the room and separate them. All he could do was watch his hopes and dreams vanish with that one kiss. Roque shut his eyes because he couldn't watch anymore. She would never be with him. He knew that for certain now.

In all the time Roque spent with her lately, Julia didn't look at him the way that she gazed at Ivan. She certainly hadn't thrown her arms around Roque and made out with him in a classroom. Roque was overcome by a strange sensation. It was as if something inside him had broken and the pain felt overwhelming. He moved away from the doorway and leaned against the wall for support.

Roque couldn't believe that they could do this to him. Julia knew how he felt about her. Ivan was supposed to be his best friend. He had promised to keep his distance. Yesterday, they could barely stand near each other without screaming or swearing, but today, they were inside the classroom flirting and cooing at each other like a pair of lovebirds. They had lied to his face about everything. As Roque remembered that afternoon when Ivan swore there was nothing going on between them, he realized that they must have been hooking up back then... That was why Julia wanted to know if Ivan was over Carolina. It was why Ivan was so desperate to insist that he wanted nothing to do with her. They were trying to cover up that they were fooling around.

Ivan had never taken Roque's interest in Julia seriously, and he never missed an opportunity to point out that Julia out of his league. Every joke or insult that Ivan made about his crush on Julia rang in Roque's ears. He was sure that was what Marcos, Carolina and Victoria thought as well. He was sure that no one would laugh at Ivan liking Julia, because pretty girls belonged with good-looking boys. Growing up, girls were constantly fighting for Ivan's attention, occasionally Cayetano would get his cast-offs, but they barely realized that Roque existed.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed for an incoming text. It was probably another angry message from Eduardo.

"Did you hear something?" asked Ivan's voice from inside the classroom.

Roque knew that he had to get out of there. He was pissed, but spying on them was still creepy. And Ivan would probably kick his ass for it. He made a quick dash for the corner, hoping that they wouldn't come out to investigate. Luckily, Ivan saw no one in the hallway when he opened the door. Roque pressed himself against the wall around the corner.

"Someone probably just walked by," said Julia as she pulled him back into the room.

Roque heard the door slam shut and he knew that he was safe. In the corner, when his sense of relief faded, anger and jealousy warred inside of Roque. He hated himself for being a coward. Why didn't he have the guts to confront them? They were the ones who had something to hide, not him. Still, he wasn't ready to deal with them.

His two best friends had stabbed him in the back. He wasn't sure what his next move would be, but he finally knew what it felt like to have his heart break. He would never be able to forgive them for that.


	2. When The Morning Comes

**When the Morning Comes**

 **Episode:** _4x06_

 **Summary:** When Ivan and Julia return to school, Elsa is there to welcome them back.

Ivan checked the time on his watch. It was 5AM, which meant that the kitchen staff hadn't started the day yet. He and Julia were just in time. Being two hours away from civilization had heightened their chances of being caught, but they had made it. They looked through the window and saw no one inside. As they walked through the kitchen, all they could think about was the video they now had in their possession. The security video of Mr. Medina's last day alive had to hold some clue about his murder.

"Ivan and Julia," came Elsa's voice from the kitchen's alcove.

They froze in their tracks and turned to see their displeased headmistress standing before them. Ivan took a few steps back to place himself between Elsa and Julia. How did she know it was them so quickly? It was almost as if she'd been waiting on them. If that was the case, the best strategy would be to remain as quiet and indignant as possible. Julia could only pray that Ivan could keep his mouth shut for once in his life.

"Well? Did you have a good time?" asked Elsa.

Neither student said a word. Ivan turned to look Julia, then back at Elsa. They knew she had already drawn her own conclusions about what they had been doing last night.

"I'm waiting," she said, crossing her arms in front of her. The teens still said nothing. Elsa shook her head. "You really have nothing to say for yourselves?"

"Next time you decide to wait up for us, could you at least put on some extra coffee?" Ivan replied sarcastically. Julia hit him in the shoulder to keep him from saying anything else.

Elsa's scowl deepened. Ivan had seen her furious at him hundreds of times before, but this time he truly thought her head was going to explode. "In my office, now!"

Considering that this Ivan, it was probably the least offensive thing he could've said. Julia bit her tongue to keep herself from making things worse. Her main concern was getting away from Elsa and checking that security video. She needed to know what happened to her father, so she played the obedient student for her headmistress.

Ivan let Julia take the lead as they walked silently to Elsa's office for their punishment. It was absurd that clueless idiots like Elsa got to dictate their comings and goings at the school. Didn't the woman have anything better to do on a Saturday than butting into their lives?

There was no one in the halls at that hour of the morning, and Elsa was grateful for it. If they were any other students, it would have been an instant expulsion and she would have directed them to their rooms to pack their belongings. However, with Jacques Noiret's generous contributions to the school, both in the official and unofficial capacities he now held, Ivan was untouchable. It also made Julia untouchable, because Elsa couldn't give two different punishments without drawing criticism from her colleagues and the board.

Elsa couldn't believe her bad luck. The two biggest terrors at school had paired up. She had suspected as much when Camilo threw them out of class, then didn't report to her office until she called them in over the loudspeaker. Elsa should have seen this coming. Damn teenagers.

As they sat in front of her this morning, she still hadn't decided on their punishments. She needed their silence about this incident, but she still needed to remind them who was in charge. They stared at her indignantly, waiting for her to say something.

"Do you two realize how many rules you've broken at this school? And how stupid and dangerous it was to take a motorcycle off school grounds?" Elsa demanded, looking at Julia, then Ivan. Neither student seemed intimidated. "Incredible. I could expel you both right now and neither of you cares?"

"Why don't you just get it over with?" asked Ivan. "Oh right, you can't. Otherwise, I and my father's fat checkbook disappear. I'm guessing that you've also got the school board breathing down your neck, and you wouldn't want it to get out that two students escaped school on your watch."

Elsa shook her head. She wanted to slap Ivan for thinking he held all the cards. Unfortunately, he had a fairly accurate idea of what was in his hand. She turned to Julia. "And what do you have to say for yourself?"

Julia shrugged indifferently. "Nothing really. We snuck out. You caught us. Big deal."

"I'm sure your mother will have more to say when we call her," Elsa told her. "You're both going to spend the rest of the school year helping Maria with the chores around here. I've already spoken to your parents, and we agreed that suspending you would just leave room for mischief. They both agreed that we're going to be discreet about this little incident, so whatever leverage you think you have is gone."

Julia leaned forward anxiously. "You already called my mother?"

"Of course, I did. What you put that poor woman through…" Elsa began, but stopped herself. "She's waiting to hear from me. Ivan, go outside and wait for your father. He wants to have a private word with you."

Ivan turned to look at Julia, who nodded for him to leave the office. He rose from his seat and walked out.

"I can't wait for this prison sentence to be over," he said as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Elsa couldn't believe that boy. Jacques would be too soft on him again, and they would be back to square one. She picked up the office phone on her desk and started dialing Julia's mother.

"What are you doing?" demanded Julia.

"Calling your mother," Elsa replied, prompting Julia to quickly press the button on the phone body to cancel the call.

"Why did you call her? You didn't last time," Julia shot back.

"That was a mistake. I'm not going to repeat it," Elsa pointed out. "You're lucky we hadn't called the police yet."

"I'm touched by your concern for us," Julia replied sarcastically. "Or are you just afraid what the school board will do if they hear you let two students escape on a Friday night?"

"You've got two choices – I call your mother and you get expelled, or you call your mother and you get to stay here," Elsa told her, offering the phone to Julia.

"You wouldn't," Julia said. She hadn't spoken to her mother in weeks. She didn't want to break that winning streak under these circumstances.

"Try me," Elsa challenged her. "Either you'll be going home tomorrow or you'll get to stay with your new boyfriend until the trimester is up. Your decision."

Julia didn't want to argue that Ivan wasn't her boyfriend. She had no intention of being his rebound from Carolina, but that was another issue for another day. She couldn't get tossed out of school now… In a surprising twist of events, she needed to stay at this ridiculous school in order to find out what actually happened to her father. She would let Elsa believe what she wanted, but she had her own reasons for staying. As she took the phone from the headmistress, she braced herself for her mother's yelling.

"Hello? Hello?" asked her mother's concerned voice on the other side of the line. "Ms. Fernandez, is there any word on Julia?"

"Hi Mom," Julia said after a brief pause.

"Julia! Where you have been?" demanded her mother. "I was so worried! I can't believe that you would pull a stunt like this!"

"Well, you couldn't have been that surprised," Julia replied. "Maybe it's just the first time I got caught."

Elsa visibly flinched. Julia knew how to push her buttons too well.

"Are you serious? You're throwing everything away, for what? To fool around with some boy?" her mother's voice shrieked at her. "What were you thinking?"

"That you would be relieved that I was finally fooling around with a boy that could take me to the spring dance?" Julia quipped. She couldn't see her mother's face, but Julia was sure that it was turning multiple shades of red.

"Unbelievable! I don't understand you. I just can't," her mother's exasperated voice replied.

In that moment, there were so many things that Julia wanted to tell her mother in that moment. She wanted to tell her mother the real reason that she and Ivan snuck off was to find the security tape of her father's last day at work. She wanted to tell her mother that none of what happened for the past two years was a coincidence. But she couldn't. Her mother would never believe it and Elsa was sitting right there, listening and judging all everything Julia said.

"Well, isn't that why you sent me here in the first place?" Julia snapped.

"I guess it is. That is why I'm leaving it up to your headmistress to punish you," she said. "I'm at my wit's end trying to get through to you."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing."

"Julia, listen to me. One day, you're going to wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and realize what you've done. When that morning comes, call me," her mother said, and then she hung up the phone.

Elsa watched Julia as she hung up the phone.

"Say one word and everyone at school will hear that Ivan and I ran off last night, and that we weren't expelled like the school rules say we should be," Julia threatened her headmistress.

"Know this, I have the power the send you back home to your mother if you do," Elsa reminded her. "It looks like we should both keep our mouths shut."

Julia nodded. She knew what she was doing, and one morning she would call her mother with actual proof that her father's accident wasn't an accident. Shew would finally be able to show her mother what she had managed to accomplish on her own.


End file.
